Fireman recalls cheating death during Jacks Hill blaze

As Damian Dennis crawled on his hands up a blazing hillside, exhausted, dehydrated and scorched, one thought pushed him not to give up – his five-year-old daughter waiting at home.

As the breadwinner for his family, the 47-year-old Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) firefighter knew he had to make it out alive.

“I decided that this couldn’t be the end,” Dennis recalled of the terrifying 2009 incident at Jacks Hill, St Andrew, which remains etched in his memory after 23 years of service. Today, the York Park Fire Station-based sergeant is counting his blessings as he prepares to watch his daughter Dejanae graduate from college in November, a milestone he once feared he would never live to see.

“By the grace of God, I reached back and I am here today to see my daughter graduate from college,” he said. Dennis, who has served across various stations in the Kingston and St Andrew Division, joined the JFB on September 7, 2003, after the company where he previously worked began downsizing. A co-worker told him about the opportunity, and he decided to give firefighting a chance. He admitted that he has witnessed many things, saved many lives, extinguished many blazes, and unfortunately seen people perish and lost colleagues, but the Jacks Hill fire still stands out. Dennis explained that the fire had become more intense than initially anticipated. A nearby swimming pool was offered as a water source, but the blaze grew out of control.

“The wind changed direction and I was caught between the wind and some of the fire. I ended up falling down the hill,” he recalled. With the fire still blazing, Dennis found himself at the bottom of the hill, separated from his colleagues and struggling to survive.

“It took me five hours to come from the bottom of the hill to where the unit was. Fully exhausted, dehydrated and scorched,” he said. He could hear his colleagues searching for him, but his body was so drained that he could not summon the strength to shout for help.

“The part that was already burnt, I had to be on my hands trying to crawl come back up, but the dirt was very hot. Imagine trying to do that when the fire is still blazing at one side and the sun blazing hot. I was dehydrated and exhausted, I had to take breaks,” he recalled.

His colleagues feared the worst until one eventually spotted him making his way back up the hill.

“They couldn’t offer me any assistance, but they tried getting aerial assistance and there was none. I had to use my training to survive,” Dennis said. When he finally made it back to the unit, exhaustion took over and he fell asleep. His protective trousers had been torn from the crotch down to the ankle.

“It (the experience) stayed with me for years, how I could have perished in that fire,” he said. Other incidents come to mind, including seeing one firefighter who suffered fourth-degree burns that left him disabled. But for Dennis, some of the most painful experiences are those involving children.

“We would report to a call and we can hear children crying. When we finally extinguish the fire to a certain degree, you only see their hands there still hanging on, wanting help, and the body is burnt. That is the worst thing to happen to us,” he said. The emotional burden of the job, he explained, can be difficult to recognise until it begins affecting everyday life. For Dennis, continuing to serve requires mental strength, training and a willingness to seek help when the weight of the job becomes overwhelming. He credits refresher courses, his training and the decision to keep showing up for helping him cope with the demands of the profession.

“There’s nothing wrong with being scared, but you have to pick up the pieces and get to work,” he said, adding that the brigade tries to provide counselling and other support to help firefighters deal with their experiences.

Dennis, who also serves as a Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers union delegate, urged those struggling with the psychological demands of the job not to suffer in silence.

“You can’t keep to yourself. You have to find someone that can assist you with the challenges you are having. The institutions are there, and as supervisors, we have to recognise when our colleagues need help,” he said. Despite the danger, the traumatic scenes and the personal toll, Dennis has no regrets about the path he has taken.

“This is not the best job in the world, but it gives me that joy.”